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Guiding Questions:

What are your initial thoughts about the concept of Literacy with ICT (LwICT)?

I am very excited about being involved in the LwICT at the senior years. This organized effort at infusing ICT within the curriculum will be very appropriate for our future generations. Of course, I feel like I have been doing this already in my classroom but after meeting others and discussing the range of possibilities of infusing ICT I feel like there is so much more to explore.

What implementation barriers for LwICT do you foresee at Senior Years?

1. Time. This is always the biggest impediment for implementing anything new to a profession that already accomplishes a lot in a day, week and a year! In certain aspects of ICT, a level of sophistication is required to seamlessly integrate it into the curriculum. Of course, PD time is necessary for teachers to get together to share ideas. Furthermore, this sharing of ideas needs to be as specific as possible according to the teachers' or their respective curriculum needs. Building a network of shared ideas is required.

2. Money. On a local level, schools will need to budget for training teachers in the various areas of ICT. It needs to made a priority.

What opportunities does LwICT present for Senior Years?

I think LwICT will facilitate a discussion amongst colleagues across all curricula to systematically infuse ICT in the classroom without being redundant or missing any facet of ICT. What a teacher does in English classes may look entirely different from what teachers do in Chemistry. Sometimes, teachers feel a pressure that they are not doing enough but LwICT will have the opportunity to express to teachers that students will become "literate" with ICT by the net effect that all content areas have on the student - not just a couple of specific courses.

What professional learning is required initially to prepare Senior Years teachers to begin to use the LwICT continuum?

I think networking the information is a solid way to approach professional learning in this area. If one or two individuals in a given highschool or region became knowledgeable of a variety of methods to enhance learning, they could act as facilitators for the few who have a need in that particular area. These teachers, in turn, would be encouraged to share their (successful) ideas in mini LwICT workshops. It drains both teacher and system to attend a workshop where there is no use in the end. The desire needs to be there first.

What types of ICT do you currently have in your Senior Years classroom?

I have 7 computers connected to the school network. One is connected to an LCD/Cable Television/Smart Board setup. All 7 computers have approximately 8 - 10 probes for scientific data gathering (physics/chem/bio). This is the primary use that I get out of the computers in addition to using them to make presentations of the data (PPT, Word, Spreadsheets, Graphing, etc). Other uses include Video Point software to analyze motion using digital cameras and video; animations and simulations; etc. I have been toying with the idea of the students creating their own animations to describe learned concepts but I have yet to find the time.

What types of ICT are available to you in your school, but not in your classroom?

I am not aware off the top of my head what else is available as far as hardware. Other teachers, of course, use other applications/software that I would like to investigate. Online assessments is one that comes to mind.

What subjects and grades do you teach and how do you currently use ICT to enhance student learning?

I teach predominantly Physics at the grade 11/12 and AP level however, every now and then I also teach a grade 9/10 science course. Mostly, the use of ICT in the classroom has been science specific, with respect to the probe ware used for data gathering of real life events. I have used video analysis in the past as well. Students have put together both written and oral presentations using ICT.